Holly Holm Set to Face Angela Hayes on Dec. 6, Team Hopeful for 2014 UFC Debut

Holly Holm (right) will square off with Angela Hayes on Dec. 6.
| Will Fox/Sherdog.com

With a dominant victory over Nikki
Knudsen barely in her rearview mirror, Holly Holm
already has her sights set on a new adversary.

Lenny Fresquez, Holm’s longtime promoter/manager, revealed on
Tuesday that the former world boxing champion will face Angela
Hayes on Dec.
6 at the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque. The announcement comes
just four days after Holm earned a second-round technical knockout
victory over Knudsen at
Legacy Fighting Championship 24 in Dallas.

“It’s been a really fun year for me, but it’s been a busy year,”
Holm said. “For some reason, I’m actually still really into
training – so that’s a good thing. I’m really excited about MMA.
It’s sparked a new interest for me and sparked a new fire for me.
Hopefully we’ll just keep building.”

Holm, who turns 32 on Thursday, isn’t exaggerating about her hectic
itinerary. The Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product began 2013 with
a second-round technical knockout triumph over Katie
Merrill at Bellator 91 in February. In May, she capped off a
wildly successful pro boxing career with a unanimous verdict over
Mary McGee, her retirement from the sweet science fueled by a
desire to focus on MMA full-time.

“The Preacher’s Daughter” then inked a four-fight deal with the
Texas-based LFC organization, where her hot streak has continued.
Prior to mowing down Knudsen, Holm scored a spectacular head-kick
KO against Allanna
Jones in July. Overall, the New Mexican is 5-0 in her new
venture, with all of her victories coming by way of knockout or
technical knockout.

Hayes, 40, is the most experienced opponent Holm has faced since
she beat former Strikeforce 145-pound title challenger Jan Finney in
September 2011. The Rough House MMA & Fitness product is 6-6 as
a professional, though she has not competed since a first-round
submission triumph over Trisha
Clark on Nov. 18, 2011. Hayes has won five of her last six
bouts overall and owns five of her six career victories by way of
tapout. Despite her track record for submissions, Hayes says she
will not shy away from trading with Holm.

“I definitely give it to her that she is a boxer that can actually
throw decent kicks,” Hayes said. “You don’t find a lot of boxers
that do that. I think that’s great; I want to stand up and bang
with her. I’m not really a ground person. I’m all about standing up
and banging. I appreciate the kicks and I’ll look out for them, but
I’ve got some pretty good kicks myself.”

Fresquez told Sherdog.com that Holm, provided she gets past Hayes,
will be fighting for a title in the first quarter of 2014. He did
not, however, reveal under which promotional banner such a bout
will take place. In the meantime, Fresquez remains confident about
Holm’s chances to make a serious impact in the UFC when the time is
right. Until that moment arrives, he says that his fighter will
remain as active as possible.

“Holly’s not the normal UFC fighter. She’s already better than most
of their UFC fighters,” Fresquez said. “They are looking for the
fans to warm up to Holly, but I’m introducing her to the world.
She’s already known to the world.

“… I’m not saying she’s ready to go fight Ronda
Rousey right now, but I can tell you she’s 12 months from being
ready to fight her,” he continued. “I don’t know how that would
play out in the UFC’s schedule, because they have a very complex
schedule. We’re not going to sit down and wait for the UFC, or wait
for anybody. We’ve been very successful with her career. I hope
that we get to work with the UFC, because our ultimate goal is to
be UFC champion, but it has to make monetary sense for us. It
doesn’t make sense for us to go backward in pay scale.”

Mike Winkeljohn, Holm’s longtime coach, took a slightly different
course when assessing Holm’s future prospects. Still, much of the
unwavering confidence carries over from promoter to trainer.

“Maybe by the third quarter of 2014 [she’ll be ready for the UFC].
Two or three more fights to build Holly and put her in the right
position with the right opponents. It’s hard to find her an
opponent,” Winkeljohn said. “We’re building her and we’re trying to
make her better at what she does. Right now, I’m confident she can
walk through most of what the UFC has, but we’re not ready for the
top ones yet.”